'Yes,' I replied meekly, and turned back.
To my great joy he let me go, and a moment later I had turned into the alley and was hidden from his view. But I had learned what I wanted to know, and my blood was tingling with happiness. Now only the worst of ill fortune could prevent me guiding Duare and Nalte back to the safety of Havatoo.
As I made my way through the streets of Kormor toward the house of Kroona my mind was filled with thoughts and plans for escape. I was determined to leave as soon as darkness fell, and already I was looking forward to and planning on what I should do upon my return to Havatoo.
As I entered Kroona's house I saw immediately, even before any one had a chance to speak, that something was amiss. Duare and Nalte rushed toward me, and it was evident that both were perturbed. Kroona and the old man who had brought us the pigments with which we had disguised ourselves were cackling together excitedly.
'At last you are back!' cried Nalte. 'We thought that you would never come.'
'Perhaps it is not too late even now,' said Duare.
'I wanted them to come with me and let me hide them,' croaked Kroona, 'but neither one of them would leave without you. They said that if you were to be taken then they would be taken too.'
'What in the world are you all talking about?' I demanded. What has happened?'
'It is soon told,' said the old man who had brought us the make-up. 'The cosmetician from whom I borrowed the materials to change you into old people has betrayed us in order to curry favor with Skor. A man heard him tell his servant to go to the palace and inform Skor that he would lead Skor's men to this hiding place of yours. The man was a friend of mine and came and told me. Skor's men may be here at any minute now.'
* * * * *
I thought rapidly; then I turned to Duare and Nalte. 'Get your make-up off as quickly as you can,' I directed, 'and I will do the same.'
'But then we shall be lost for certain,' exclaimed Duare.
'On the contrary,' I replied as I commenced to remove the pigment from my blond head.
'They will know us at once without our disguises,' insisted Duare, but I was glad to see that both she and Nalte were following my example and removing the paint from their hair and faces.
'Our own youth will be the best disguise we can adopt in this emergency,' I explained. 'These creatures of Skor are none too intelligent, and having been sent to find three fugitives who have disguised themselves as very old people they will be looking only for those who appear very old. If we can get out of the house before they come I think we have a good chance to avoid detection.'
We worked rapidly and soon had the last vestiges of our disguises removed; then we thanked Kroona and the old man, bid them good-by, and left the house. As we entered the street we saw a body of warriors approaching from the direction of the palace.
'We were not quite in time,' said Nalte. 'Shall we turn and run for it?'
'No,' I replied. 'That would only arouse their suspicions immediately and they would pursue and most certainly overtake us. Come! We shall go and meet them.'
'What!' demanded Duare in astonishment. 'Are we going to give ourselves up?'
'By no means,' I replied. 'We are going to take a great chance, but there is no alternative. If they see three people walking away from them they will investigate, and if they do that we may be recognized; but if they see us approaching them they will believe that we do not fear anything from them and will be convinced therefore that we are not those whom they seek. Walk with the shuffling gait of the dead, and keep your eyes on the ground. Duare, you walk ahead, Nalte a few paces behind you; I shall cross to the other side of the street. By separating we shall attract less attention; they are looking for three people whom they expect to find together.'
'I hope your reasoning is correct,' said Duare, but it was evident that she was skeptical. I was none too enthusiastic about the plan myself.
I crossed the street to the side along which the warriors were approaching, knowing that there was less likelihood that any of them would recognize me than that they would know Duare, who had been in Skor's palace for some time.
I must admit that I felt none too comfortable as the distance between me and the warriors steadily lessened, but I kept my eyes on the ground and shuffled slowly along.
As I came abreast of them their leader halted and addressed me. My heart stood still. 'Where is the house of Kroona?' he asked.
'I do not know,' I replied and shuffled on my way. Momentarily I expected to be seized, but the warriors went on their way and let me go on mine. My ruse had been successful!
As soon as I felt that it was safe I crossed to the opposite side of the street, and as I caught up with the two girls I told them to follow behind me but not too closely.
It still lacked an hour until sunset, and I did not dare risk approaching the entrance to the tunnel until after dark. In the meantime we must find a place to hide and keep off the streets where every moment we were in danger of arousing suspicion.
Turning into a side street I soon found a deserted house, of which there are many in Kormor; and presently we were in hiding again.
* * * * *
Both girls were dejected. I could tell by their silence and listlessness. The future must have seemed hopeless to them, yet they voiced no complaints.
'I have some good news for you,' I said.
Duare looked at me with scarcely any indication of interest, as though there never could be any good news for her again. She had been unusually silent since our escape from the palace. She seldom spoke unless directly addressed; and she avoided speech with Nalte as much as possible, although her manner toward her was not definitely unfriendly.
'What is the good news?' demanded Nalte.
'I have found the entrance to the tunnel to Havatoo,' I replied.
The effect of that statement upon Nalte was electrical, but it seemed to arouse only passive interest in Duare. 'In Havatoo,' she said, 'I shall be as far as ever from Vepaja.'
'But your life will not be in danger,' I reminded her.
She shrugged. 'I do not know that I care to live,' she replied.
'Don't be discouraged, Duare,' I begged. 'Once we are in Havatoo I am confident that I shall discover a way to find Vepaja and return you to your people.' I was thinking of the plane ready and waiting in its hangar on Kantum Lat., but I didn't say anything about it. I wanted to save it as a surprise for her; and, anyway, we were not yet in Havatoo.
The two hours that we waited until complete darkness enveloped the city were as long a two hours as I have ever spent; but at last it seemed safe to attempt to reach the silent, deserted house near the river front, where all our hopes were centered.
The street was deserted when we left the building where we had been hiding; I was certain of my way to our destination, and without delay or adventure we at last came in sight of the decaying structure that hid the entrance to our avenue of escape.
I led the girls into the buildings, and there we huddled in the dark, listening. I regretted then that I had been unable to retrieve the sword I had taken from Skor and buried in the yard of Kroona's home. It would have given me a feeling of far greater security than I now enjoyed.
Satisfied at last that we were the sole occupants of the building and that no one had followed us, I crossed to the doorway that hid the entrance to the tunnel, Duare and Nalte close behind me.
I had no difficulty in finding the latch, and a moment later we were descending into the dark corridor with liberty and safety almost in our grasp.
There was a chance that we might meet one of Skor's creatures returning from Havatoo; but I felt that everything was in our favor inasmuch as one of them had just crossed in the opposite direction, and there had never been any evidence that they were in Havatoo in great numbers. It was my opinion that the two that set upon Nalte and me were alone in that venture, and if that were true it was also doubtless true that Skor never had more than a couple of his retainers in Havatoo at the same time. I certainly hoped that I was right.
In silence, through the utter darkness, we groped our way along the cold, moist corridor beneath the River of
